August 2016

The tax day floods this spring that hit Houston with up to 18 inches of rain took their toll along the banks and hike and bike paths of Buffalo Bayou when the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to double its rate of storm water discharge from the reservoirs feeding Houston’s primary waterway.

While that three-month discharge prevented downstream flooding, it eroded and washed out parts of the north bank of the bayou, leaving behind extensive damage to hike and bike pavement, some of which fell into the waterway, creating public safety hazards, according to the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).

HCFCD will begin an emergency repair project the week of August 22 to fix about a dozen damaged locations, located between Dairy Ashford and Beltway 8. The work is expected to last two to three weeks.

Serco Construction Group, HCFCD’s contractor for the project, will reconstruct and stabilize the channel banks. Once that work is complete, Harris County Precinct 3 Parks Department will reconstruct damaged park amenities.

Any trees removed during the emergency repairs will be replaced, according to HCFCD, which also emphasized that the project has nothing to do with conveyance improvements along Buffalo Bayou or detention in Terry Hershey Park.